Lot 8099
1857 (Dec 7): Stampless envelope struck on despatch with MOIRA / NY despatch cds in black, prepaid 33 cents in cash, addressed to the Revd. Otis Gibson in 'Fuh-Chau' (Foochow), China. Carried on the Transatlantic leg of the journey by the New York & Havre Steam Navigation Co. steamer 'Fulton' with London / Paid' cds in red on front (Dec 24). Struck in transit with very fine impression of Crown PAID AT HONG-KONG handstamp in red. Reverse with New York transit (Dec 12) and Hong Kong double arc arrival cds (Feb 28, 1858) in black. Minor flap imperfections of no significance, a scarce cover.
Reverend Otis Gibson (1826-1889) was a methodist pastor. When he was 19, he joined the Methodist Episcopal Church. Shortly before he graduated from college, Otis Gibson decided to go into the ministry and was appointed as a missionary to Foochow. Otis Gibson’s ordination was given in 1854. On 3 April 1855 Gibson and wife set sail from New York Harbor an a clipper ship bound for Shanghai. Finally they reached Foochow on August 13, 1855. In 1856 Gibson purchased a place in the South bank of River Min and established there in 1859 a commodious wooden Western-style boarding school for laymen and ministers. In the 1860s Gibson also helped in the translation work of the Bible into local Foochow dialect.
